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PSYC426 > Ch1 - Psych tests and their use > Flashcards

Ch1 - Psych tests and their use Flashcards

1
Q

Def of psychological tests

A

a systematic procedure for obtaining samples of behaviour, relevant to cognitive, affective or interpersonal functioning, and for scoring and evaluating those samples according to standards.
• ALL those need to be met in order to consist a TRUE psych test

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2
Q

2 reasons why standardized tests are called like that

A
  1. Because standardizing allows for more precision of results - making all variables uniform
    1. The results are compared to a normative/standardization sample (average)
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3
Q

Tests def

A

evaluate if the responder’s answers are right or wrong

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4
Q

Tests in which responses are neither correct/incorrect are called

A

inventories, questionnaires, surveys, checklists, schedules, etc.

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5
Q

Tests that sample knowledge, skills, cognitive functions =

A

ability tests

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6
Q

personality tests

A

All others (don’t evaluate right/wrong responses, don’t sample knowledge, skills, cognitive functions either)

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7
Q

Scale def in psychometrics

A

a group of items that pertain to a single variable and are arranged in order of difficulty or intensity

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8
Q

Scaling

A

the process of arriving at the sequencing of items that pertain to a single variable

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9
Q

Battery

A

group of several tests/subtests that are administered at one time to one person

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10
Q

2 points at which psychological tests are evaluated

A
  1. When they are considered as potential tools by prospective users (concerns = technical qualities and evidence base)
  2. Once they are placed in use (concern = skill of the user and the way tests are used)
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11
Q

ITC: International Test Commission

A

organizations that promote appropriate policies and practices around psych tests (since 1978)

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12
Q

Authors interests/roles for tests

A

interested in psychological theory/research
conceive/develop tests
Find a way to disseminate tests

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13
Q

Users interests/roles for tests

A

interested in the utility of the test for their personal purposes
select/decide a specific test and use it for some purpose
Can also be examiners or scorers

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14
Q

Publishers interests/roles for tests

A

interested in profit from selling tests

publish/market/sell tests

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15
Q

Test reviewers roles for tests

A

prepare evaluative critiques based on the technical and practical merits

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16
Q

Tests sponsors role

A

Institutional boards or govt agencies who contact test developers or publishers for various testing services

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17
Q

Test administrators/exminers roles

A

administer the tests

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18
Q

Test takers roles

A

take the test by choice or necessity

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19
Q

Test scorers roles

A

Tally the raw responses and transform them into scores through objective or mechanical scoring or through evaluative judgements

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20
Q

Test score interpreters role

A

Interpret test results to their ultimate consumers (test takers, their relatives, other professionals, organizations, etc)

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21
Q

Why were tests less used before the 20th century

A

Their + important use: tools used in making decisions about people
• Before the 20th century, little need for ppl to make decisions about others because their lives were dictated by social status, gender, economic status, et

22
Q

2 handicapping factors for clinical tests

A
  1. Lack of knowledge about psychopathology

2. Lack of standardization

23
Q

Galton contribution

A

intellectual gifting is hereditary (premise)
○ Found regression and correlation
○ Measurement of auditory acuity and weight discrimination
○ Twin study method

24
Q

Ebbinghaus contribution

A

fill-in-the-blank sentences
○ Foreshadowed group testing
○ Effective gauge of intellectual ability

25
Q

Wundt’s contribution

A

Developing apparatus and standardized procedures for mapping out the range of human capabilities in sensation and perception
• Started with Wundt’s 1st lab in Leipzig - little interest in individual differences

26
Q

Binet’s contribution

A

Binet - had to invent tool to detect mental retardation for school placement
• Binet-Simon scale: super successful
○ Was comprehensive
○ Level of intellectual ability could be described quantitatively

27
Q

Mental level def

A

Credit given by completing Binet tests

28
Q

Mental age score

A
  • Credit given by completing Binet tests = mental level

* Stern renamed it mental age score

29
Q

How to calculate ratio IQ

A

mental age score
• Divided by participant’s age and multiplied by 100 = Intelligence quotient (IQ) - ratio IQ
• Leads to Stanford-Binet scale - widely used

30
Q

Spearman contribution

A

Spearman - worked on empirical evidence for Galton’s link between sensory acuity and intelligence
• Factor analysis (reduce large nbr of variables to a smaller set of factors )
• General intelligence factor (G)

31
Q

Yerkes contributions

A

Yerkes (APA president in 1917) developped a group test of intelligence for US army recruits in WWI
• Called the Army Alpha - 8 subtests from other instruments (including Binet scale)
• Followed by the Army Beta - did not require reading
• Mistakes were made - inappropriate conclusions

32
Q

SATs

A

• Scholastic Aptitude tests (SAT)
○ In addition to high school grades - for college selection
○ Preceded others like GRE (graduate record exam), MCAT (medical college admission test), and LSAT (law school admission test)
○ Critique: reinforces meritocracy

33
Q

• Tests of Special Skills and Aptitudes - for job placement

A
  1. Identify skills needed for a job - job analysis
    2. Administer tests for those skills
    3. Correlate results with measures of job performance
34
Q

Personnel Testing and Vocational Guidance

• Multiple aptitudes batteries

A

○ Separates the components of scales (numerical, verbal, spatial, etc) to obtain separate scores
○ Assess strengths and weaknesses
○ Intelligence is not a unitary concept

35
Q

Empirical Criterion Keying

A

Method to select questions for personality inventories where the items are chosen and weighted according to social criterion.

MMPI uses it - makes it less likely to cheat because items don’t seem to be linked with psychopathologies

36
Q

• Personality Inventories ex

A

○ Woodworth Personal Data Sheet - used in WWI to assess illness
○ Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) (used empirical criterion keying technique - makes it less likely to cheat because items don’t seem to be linked with psychopathologies)
○ Factor analysis started to be used in this domain

37
Q

• Projective techniques ex

A

○ Rooted in free association methods of Freud, Jung and Kraepelin
○ Rorschach’s test - standardized method
○ Thematic Apperception Test
○ Controversy about their validity because of the qualitative answers

38
Q

• Neuropsychological Tests ex

A

○ Observation of brain injuries in WWI
○ Organicity (synonym of brain damage) was examined
○ Has evolved - no longer viewed as all-or-none

39
Q

Organicity

A

synonym of brain damage

40
Q

3 categories for the current uses of tests

A
  1. Decision making
    ○ Often controversial since there will be consequences for one party - the test itself will be attacked
    ○ Often not used as tools but as means to an end - not their intended use
    1. Psychological research
      ○ Less controversial than in decision-making
      ○ Ethical mandates
    2. Self-understanding and personal development
      ○ Criticism: overuse of labels
      ○ Therapeutic model of assessment: views testing as a tool to promote self-understanding
41
Q

Assessment

A

process in which tests are used

42
Q

Steps in the Assessment Process

A
  1. Identify goals
    1. Select instruments to gather data
    2. Administer / score instruments
    3. Interpret results
    4. Use data to make inferences
      Used for:
      • Diagnostic questions
      • Making predictions
      • Evaluative judgments
43
Q

Differences / resemblances between assessment and tests

A
  • Tests = + simple, involves less procedures
  • Tests are shorter
  • Tests evaluate only the test taker, assessments also use collateral sources of data
  • Tests have nomothetic focus, assessment have idiographic
  • Tests require less knowledge for use (just the tests and testing procedures, while assessments require knowledge of other assessment methods and the specialty area)
  • Tests are more objective, assessment is subjective
  • Tests are inexpensive, assessments are expensive
  • Tests are for obtanining data for use in making decisions, assessments are for arriving at the decision
  • Tests are highly structured, while assessments can have unstructured parts
  • Test results are easily evaluated, harder to evaluate assessments due to variability of methods
44
Q

2 reasons for test misuse

A

• Insufficient knowledge/competence of test users
○ Guidelines have been published to help, for ex:
§ APA Task Force on Test User Qualifications, which outlines:
□ Core knowledge essential to those using tests to make decisions/policies affecting the lives of test takers
□ Expertise that test users in specific domains must have

• The ease with which we can access tests even if we are not qualified to use them
45
Q

Published tests

A

commercially available through a test publisher

46
Q

Unpublished tests

A

have to be obtained directly from the investigator who created them

47
Q

Mental Measurements Yearbook (MMY)

A

Assist test users in providing evaluative test reviews

48
Q

Test user qualifications

A

Classifications of psych tests into 3 levels: A, B, C
• Level C is highest
• Levels vary by the level of training required to purchase and administer the test

49
Q

Level C tests

A

• Higher level tests are not available to the public
• Lower level tests are more widely available
○ Example: C is the highest level of licensure/education of psych (doctorate PhD or equivalent, PsyD, as well as full license in their province/country, ex Ordre des Psy)
• Usually, level C tests are used in high-stakes testing
○ AKA individual assessment where an examiner meets 1 on 1 with an examinee
○ Means that the scores play a critical role in the life of that person (ex: access to scholarships, special education resources, formal diagnosis, etc)

50
Q

Level B tests

A
  • Purchaser/administrator has the equivalent of a Master’s degree and might also have a limited license to practice in their field (does not exist in psych in Quebec), some amount of practical experience
    • Might be used in more research-related applications (focus is less on individual assessment, more in group assessment)
51
Q

Level A tests

A

• Lowest level
• Low-stake assessment (still important in research-focus)
BA is needed to purchase/administer the test - very simple questionnaires to administer, require little to no training

PSYC426 (9 decks)

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